eBooks and shape of future of free publications - Golden Age is coming

eBooks and shape of future of free publications

While browsing on Internet, I was surprised to find free several theosophical publications are available on Barnes & Noble’s Nook eReader. All these free books are out of print books. The eBook phenomenon in books - both old and new - is taking off and the current attraction is the immediate download and low prices. There is a push to keep the prices low to attract larger readership by keeping the royalties higher at lower selling prices. With thousands of inexpensive software applications available on iPhone and iPad, there is going to be more downward pressure on eBook prices in the future. Added to it is the ability of the authors to bypass the publishing overhead and offer eBooks at a very low price. The major threat to the hard copy publishing is from fast inexpensive scanners which can convert books quickly to electronic form. This may already be happening since it is lot more convenient to load an electronic file on to a computer or phone or tablet computer than carry heavy books.

Really spiritual enterprises have an unique opportunity, which I hope some of them - including theosophical ones - take advantage of. Most spiritual enterprises are the results of volunteer who are driven by a cause which they are convinced will do good to our fellow men and women. This combined with inexpensive distribution channel available is a very powerful combination which even multi-million dollar operation cannot touch because these are driven by profit motive only.

Let us keep tuned for the golden age of spiritual information that awaits Humanity. Each of us, who are driven by a noble cause, can contribute to this and help the ‘Orphan Humanity.’

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Comment by Michael A. Williams on July 6, 2011 at 2:14pm: M k, and Captain,

Your points are well taken. There will always be rogue, underground publishers and hackers trying to disrupt things and/or make quick, illegal money.

But, in the case involving Amazon(wish I had the particulars handy) the censorship was approved and caused by a large, mainstream provider, not some criminal fringe group. I only pointed this out so we can be more alert to these possibilities in the future.

In regards to the large Theosophical Organizations being the spearhead of providing free and/or very low cost digital downloads of all their material, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting.

For the many rank-n-file Theosophists around the globe wanting all this unreleased spiritual material made digitally available and in book form, there are two questions that need answers.

First: Have these people read and fully assimilated all the free material now available on this site and others?

And, second: Does this rank-n-file movement feel that the Theosophical Inner Circle of "Powers-That-Be" is holding back some top secret powerful spiritual teachings they think is potent metaphysical dynamite that the masses are not ready for yet?

Moderator Comment by M K Ramadoss on July 6, 2011 at 12:48am: While I love to read hard copies, one of the main issues with them is the cost and speed of distribution especially for those in countries outside the West. On demand printing of books is taking off to meet the needs of hard copies and the technology is improving every day.

I am a proponent of making spiritual books in electronic non-proprietary format either free or at a very low price and two unique features go with electronic files. Easy storage and searchability of the text.

In respect of recent theosophical publications, they are very pricey which made them out of reach for most average middle class readers, especially in the countries outside the West. This cuts down the market for these pricey books. Electronic files will only increase the audience interested in them and that is bound to affect the readers.

Censorship is bound to be defeated in this age of Internet since people talk to each other on Internet forums. We will have to see how the landscape develops. But I would like to see theosophical publishers at the leading edge of the technological changes rather than behind the curve.

Comment by Capt. Anand Kumar on July 6, 2011 at 12:39am: Thanks Michael.

True, unscrupulous elements will always find a way to subvert the best of intentions. It is true in the case of cheap printed books as well, as anyone visiting Delhi and having bought a popular paperback from the boys on traffic intersection would testify.

Many PDF maker programs incrporate security features which are difficult to break, but not impossible for a determined hacker. All the more reason for good people to provide authentic texts to hunugry seekers.

Comment by Michael A. Williams on July 5, 2011 at 11:36pm: Thanks, Captain,

Certainly, ebooks and all applications are here to stay and will get more sophisticated as time goes on. I'm sure, also, that books will be around for some time also. The book publishing world is going through drastic changes, and who can predict where that will lead.

One problem with downloaded ebooks, that I've read about, is that they can be censored electronically very easily by whoever is controlling the download. Amazon ran into some criticism a while back for doing this with some book people were reading via KIndle that someone there didn't particularly like. They promised not to do it again, but as far as I know nothing was done to prevent it happening again.

Obviously, this would be impossible to do with an ink and paper book.

Imagine if someone at a download company didn't agree with something Blavatsky said in one her works that can be downloaded. He simply changes it around to suit his views and, presto, that's what people are reading on their Kindle screens, and very few, if any, would know what happened.

Just a thought, but that's why original ink and paper of valuable written material, plus photo copies, should be preserved

Comment by Capt. Anand Kumar on July 5, 2011 at 10:26pm: Thanks Michael.

With the free Acrobat Reader 10.0, you can make comments, highlight and do several other things like on your physical book. You are not in a minority. I and my two young daughters can read physical books with some difficulty, and prefer e-books. But the two children of my brother are just the opposite. They have huge problems reading e-books. So, I guess it is a matter of some in-built personality attributes over whcih one has no control.

If you have a treasure, would you consider sharing it with others in electronic format. Scholars around here could perhaps go through the listing to see which ones need conversion and we could take it from there. Under Creative Commons License, of course.

Comment by Michael A. Williams on July 5, 2011 at 10:11pm: I guess I'm a member of a dying "breed" who grew up with books and still loves the feel and look of a book. eBooks are here to stay, for sure, and digital media has many advantages, but I still have shelves of books and love going to libraries, and have been since I was five years old.

With a book, hardbound or paper, you can thumb through it, makes notes in the margins, easily jump around if you want, something I really miss with these PDF documents.

But, it appears I'm in the minority of one here on this site with this view.

Moderator Comment by M K Ramadoss on July 5, 2011 at 9:59pm: Thanks for the info.

Theosophical publications are in a category of its own and copyright issues should be the last ones to control free dissemination of literature, even though misguided people do not see the writing on the wall. It is hoped that common sense will prevail and do the right thing so that those hungry for spiritual knowledge around the world will have easy and quick access to ancient wisdom though dressed in modern garb.

The steady sign up of members from around the world indicates that this site has info that many are seeking and it is our duty to see what we can do to make more materials available.

Comment by Capt. Anand Kumar on July 5, 2011 at 9:49pm: Recently I also came across a webpage listing a phenomenal number of Hindu Sanskrit and Translated e-books which appears to be a lifetime work of someone. You may like to vist here.

Comment by Capt. Anand Kumar on July 5, 2011 at 9:42pm: One of the very good free e-book format converter is Calibre which can be downloaded from here. No matter which file format you find the e-book in (Kindle, Lit, Epub etc.) you can convert it to pdf and other formats for reading on your desktop.

Copyright issues currently discourage many from putting up books online, but technology has an independent growth engine and does not respect dogma. For many rare books you may like to visit here . There may be many others. Digital Library of India and Scribd are good resources too.

Moderator Comment by M K Ramadoss on July 5, 2011 at 10:49am: Recently I came across an expensive professional publication and was surprised to find it bundled with a free electronic copy. Obviously, the publisher is convinced they are not losing money by providing electronic copy; and providing additional convenience and value to the user. I hope every spiritual publication follows the lead, thus making material more widely and easily available to a wider audience.